New Research Could Promise a Potential Cancer “Vaccine”

Researchers at Stanford University recently had one of the biggest breakthroughs in the battle against cancer to date. They found that injecting immune-stimulating agents into solid tumors in mice can eliminate traces of cancer in the animals; in 90 cases, 87 mice were completely cleared of cancerous tumors.

“When we use these two agents together, we see the elimination of tumors all over the body,” said Ronald Levy, MD, professor of oncology. “This approach bypasses the need to identify tumor-specific immune targets and doesn’t require wholesale activation of the immune system or customization of a patient’s immune cells.”

Activating the T cells in tumors seems to eliminate metastases in mice, and researchers believe that this will be effective across a variety of cancers — even those that arise spontaneously.

Clinical trials for humans are already in the works; lymphoma patients are currently being recruited to try the vaccine for themselves.

To learn more about the study and the potential future of this vaccine, check out this article from the Stanford Medical News Center.